Thrive
by Elleny Banning
Summary: A young man's memory is stolen from him in an attempt to seal his power and steal his father's lands. Forced to work as a servant in his own home, will Yash ever know his true identity? Will a beautiful young woman be able to heal him?
1. Prologue

Once upon a time, there were two brothers. They were both very handsome, with hair that was long and white as a full moon, and eyes that shone like molten gold. The elder was cruel and unforgiving, while the younger was kindhearted and just. They were both the son of the Inu no Taisho, the mighty Yokai lord of the Western Lands. While the elder was a full-blooded Yokai, born of a great dog demoness, the younger was a Hanyo, born of a human woman.

Though the Inu no Taisho held the mother of the elder in high regard, she had no love for him and left to seek her own happiness. The union of the Great Dog Demon and the human woman was one of love, even though many frowned upon them. However, the Inu no Taisho was highly respected as a wise and powerful lord, and therefore, no one spoke against them openly.

It was widely known that the Inu no Taisho was quick to judge and be violent. He never went anywhere without his great sword strapped to his side. Nevertheless, he was never violent without reason, and from this, the younger learned fairness. It seemed that the elder was unable to take in these lessons, and was never found to be compassionate towards anyone; even those who committed the smallest of infractions were shown no mercy, and all who knew him soon feared him.

Sadly, the younger son knew his mother for only a short time before she was ripped from the world. The Great Dog Demon mourned for many long years, until his sons had both grown into very different men. It was obvious to all that he favored the younger, for although the younger had a rebellious streak, he was also possessed of a gentle soul, and thus reminded the father of the woman he had loved and lost.

When it was the Inu no Taisho's time to pass from this world to the next, he made his will known that the younger should receive the larger inheritance. It was the Inu no Taisho's desire that the younger son should rule in his place after his passing. The elder son, who was consumed by jealousy, felt no pain at his father's death. Instead, his heart became dark with hatred and madness. Being full Yokai, he held considerable power; enough to kidnap his own brother and force a magician to steal his memory and bind him to his human form with a string of kotodama prayer beads. As a human, the younger brother's hair became black as the moonless night, and his eyes turned from molten gold to deep mahogany. Where there had once been fangs, there were perfect straight teeth, and the small dog ears that crowned his head disappeared and were replaced by human ones.

In a final act meant to humiliate the younger brother, the elder brother took his father's sword and viciously hacked the beautiful hair from his brother's head. The elder proudly took his place as the ruler of the Western Lands, instilling terror in the hearts of those who served him, for he was cold-blooded and depraved. With no memory of a past life, the younger brother was forced to work as a servant in his own household. To those who once knew him, he was unrecognizable.

No one seemed to know what had become of the promising young lord.

Except for one.

_Authors' Note: We are so excited to post the prologue for what we are hoping will be a thrill-ride of a story. We just wanted to leave you with a couple of notes to sort out any confusion._

_First, you'll notice that we have left off the "u" in Yokai and Hanyo. This is because when the words are actually pronounced, they are said as "yo-kai" and "han-yo." We feel that writing Youkai or Hanyou encourages readers to pronounce them as "yoo-kai" or "han-yoo."_

_Second, Elleny Banning, our pseudonym, is an amalgamation of parts of our names. The name Elleny comes from Danielle and Sydney and Banning comes from Bradely and Manning. Thus, you will see that we refer to ourselves as "we", because there are, in fact, two of us._

_Third, this is our first joint effort. We hope you enjoy it. Let us know if you see any grammatical or spelling errors and we will do our best to correct them._

_Enjoy!_


	2. Aphotic

**Chapter 1**

**Aphotic**

Yash knelt before the fireplace, sweeping the ashes and dust from the previous night's fire into a small metal pan. He tried to avoid getting soot on his white kosode shirt. It was the only one he had, and there was no way from him to obtain another, should this one be ruined. The same went for his red hakama pants. Though his clothes were quite old, Yash worked very hard to make sure they were in presentable condition. His dark hair was cropped short, though long enough that he could often be found running a hand through it in frustration. A string of prayer beads hung around his neck, though he wasn't a religious man. He had worn the beads for as long as he could remember, and didn't see any reason to stop now.

Autumn was coming. He could feel the slight chill in the air through the open window. As he worked, he wondered to himself what horrors the next few months would bring.

In a few months, three to be exact, Lord Sesshomaru would be marrying the Lady Kagura, the very one whose fireplace Yash was currently cleaning. At this time, they were, for all intents and purposes, married already, except on paper. The coming wedding would make everything official.

"Yash." The Lady Kagura's voice dragged him sharply back to the present.

"Y-yes, L-lady K-k-kagura?" _Damn it_, he thought angrily. He stood, his hand automatically flying to his hair, as if it were a nervous tic, and turned away from the fireplace, giving her his full attention. She lounged on a low couch facing the fireplace. As always, she wore a purple and white kimono, tied at the waist with a yellow sash. Her dark hair was pulled up, away from her face, adorned with only two white feathers.

"You know that guests will be arriving in a few days, don't you?" Her red eyes narrowed and a frown spread over her lovely features.

Yash nodded to avoid speaking.

"Everything must be spotless."

He nodded again.

She smiled. Sometimes Yash thought this smile was more frightening than her customary frown.

"Good. Get back to work. "

Yash bowed slightly and turned back to the fireplace. He was just sweeping up the last of the ashes when he heard the door open and someone else enter. He rose with the full pan in his arms.

"Hello, Kagura," Lord Sesshomaru said smoothly.

Yash started, but managed to keep a hold on his pan. For reasons unbeknownst to him, there was something about Sesshomaru that made Yash's skin crawl with fear. It wasn't often that they were in close proximity for more than a few moments.

"Hello, dear," Kagura replied.

"Get out, servant," Sesshomaru snapped.

Yash nodded, and made to leave. Head down and in a hurry to get away from Lord Sesshomaru, he didn't see the turned up edge of the carpet. If he had, that day might have ended very differently from the way it did.

For a moment, it was as if everything was moving very slowly. He distinctly saw the pan fly up in the air, flip over and spread ashes everywhere. It landed with a _clang_ on the wooden floor. It was only when everything settled that he dared risk a look at his infuriated master.

Sure enough, the look on Lord Sesshomaru's face was angry enough to make the bravest man cower. Even when covered in soot, the man was terrifying. A low growl emanated from his throat as he bared his sharp fangs.

Nearly choking on his own words, Yash attempted to say that he was sorry, but was unable to force the sounds from his mouth. Instead, he stood there for a moment, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly while he awaited certain punishment.

He didn't even see Sesshomaru come at him. His head jerked to the side as sharp claws connected with his cheek. His eyes watered with pain as he staggered away, attempting to keep his footing. His left hand clapped over his right cheek. Blood ran down his face and neck as he tried to staunch the flow. One violent shove later, Yash found himself colliding with the wall behind him. There was a cracking noise and pain exploded in his left side.

For several seconds, he didn't move, didn't risk incurring more wrath. It had been years since he had begged for reprieve.

Vaguely, he heard Lady Kagura speaking in soothing tones, but he knew the kind words weren't meant for him. As he opened his eyes, Lord Sesshomaru's arm came across his collarbone, pinning him to the wall.

"Next time, I will not be so forgiving. If you disrupt our wedding in any way, you _will _die," Sesshomaru snarled. "Now, get out."

Not needing more encouragement, Yash scrambled away from his livid master and backed out of the room.

No one spoke to him, or even spared him a glance as he passed by. As of late, seeing servants bleeding or in pain was not uncommon. Yokai masters tended to be violent when tensions were high, and as wedding preparations were in full swing, every servant was feeling the effects of it.

He turned left out of Kagura's room and followed the hallway down toward the back of the house. On his right, he passed the grand staircase. He didn't dare use it. Servants were strictly forbidden on the main stairs. Instead, he used the small dark staircase at the back: the servants' stairs. He didn't mind.

Keeping a hand over his bleeding cheek, he stepped through the servants' quarters and into the kitchen. Every step was painful and Yash had the sneaking suspicion that something might actually be broken. It was mid-morning. Everyone was either cleaning up from breakfast, or working on the meal that would be served at noon.

He nodded at Suzaku, the head cook. In return, she gave him a pained smile. He could see she was inwardly worrying about the blood running down his face and wondering why he was covered in soot. But he didn't stop to talk to her. He exited the kitchen through the back door and emerged into the herb garden, into the bright sunlight.

There was a slight nip in the air, but that didn't stop the young Yokai boy who was pulling weeds from the earth.

"Hey, Yash!" he called cheerfully when he saw him.

Yash smiled at the small boy; he couldn't help it. Everything about the young fox Yokai was so innocent. He appeared to be about seven years of age, and had the enthusiasm to match. His bright red hair was tied up in a top-knot, allowing his pointed ears to peek out. Sea-green eyes sparkled with untainted happiness. Because he was so small, he had never known true hard labor, and was rarely close enough to the lord of the house to endure any abuse from him.

"Hi, Shippo," Yash replied. He tried not to grimace as pain radiated from his left side.

"You're bleeding," Shippo said, concern on his small face. "You shouldn't let Lord Sesshomaru push you around like that," he said defiantly.

Yash shrugged. "Keh. You're just a kid. What do you know? Anyway, where's Kaede?"

"I think she's in the shrine." Shippo turned back to the bed of herbs he was weeding.

"Thanks," Yash said and turned away. The shrine was just a few minutes' walk from the house, but it was agonizing and he was breathing heavily by the time he arrived at the stairs.

The path was mostly ensconced in red pine trees that grew overhead and formed a shaded walkway. At the end of the walkway was a tall red arch that led to the stairs that would take him up to the actual shrine. As Yash stood before the looming stone staircase, he felt a small amount of panic rising in his chest. As it was, he was fighting to stay standing.

He surveyed the stairs with a frown, as though they were his enemy. With a deep breath, that caused sharp, shooting pains in his abdomen, he began to climb. He barely made it to the first of three landings before he had to sit down. He thought about calling up the stairs, but he didn't want to disturb Kaede, especially if she was praying.

So he waited.

* * *

"Yash?"

Someone was calling his name. Blearily, he opened one eye to find Kaede standing above him.

"What are you doing out here?" She was frowning slightly.

"You're not happy to see me?" he asked. Though his tone was light and teasing, there was genuine concern beneath it. The last thing he wanted was to disturb her.

She scoffed, but she was smiling. "Get up," she sighed.

Yash rose to his feet, though not without considerable effort. Kaede seemed to appreciate how difficult of a time he was having by waiting patiently. She herself was not a young woman and tended to move slowly.

As they walked, Yash explained what had happened with Lord Sesshomaru. At the bottom of the stairs, they turned right, heading away from the shrine and the manor, toward the small home that Kaede occupied. Kaede seemed in no hurry to get the story out of him and she she allowed him to talk without interrupting.

"And then he s-said to g-get out." Yash finished his story as they were coming around the final bend and the old woman's hut came into view.

It was a modest dwelling; a rush mat hung over the doorframe, blocking the inside from view. There were no windows, but a stone chimney protruded from the thatched roof.

Yash held the rush mat aside for Kaede as she entered the hut. He followed her into the cool interior. In the center of the front room was a small fireplace, over which hung a small kettle. The fire wasn't lit at present, but Yash remembered many times when it had been.

The back room was Kaede's bedroom. Yash had never been inside it, but she often kept much of her healing herbs in there.

He sat down with a grunt, leaning against the wall to the right of the back room. Gingerly, he touched his cheek. It was no longer bleeding, but was sensitive to the touch. Kaede bustled about for a few minutes before she knelt by his side with a small bowl of water, a few rags, and a thick bandage.

Yash winced in pain as Kaede gently cleaned his wound with one of the rags. Closing his eyes, he leaned against the wall of the hut, absentmindedly fingering the prayer beads around his neck.

_Yash opened his eyes and found he was no longer in Kaede's hut, but in the orchard of sakura trees at the back of the house. It was summer. The sun beat down hotly on his face, and he was overwhelmed with excruciating sadness. _

_A short distance away from him was an ornate stone bench. On it sat a small boy, no more than five years old. The little boy had long white hair and the most peculiar triangular ears atop his head. He was dressed all in red and wore no shoes._

_Yash stepped closer. In the boy's hand was a small blue ball. He was tossing it back and forth between each hand, a look of deep concentration on his face. _

_He didn't look up as Yash approached him, but rather, continued tossing the small ball. Back and forth. Back and forth. _

"_Are you all right?" Yash inquired. There was something startlingly familiar about this young child, but Yash had never seen him before. All the same, he couldn't help but feel that they knew each other very well. _

_The boy ignored him. Suddenly, he looked up, straight at Yash, but it was almost as if he didn't seem him. Turning around and facing the same direction as the boy, he was able to see a long procession of people making their way away from the house and away from the orchards. _

_A sound ripped from the boy's throat and when Yash looked back, he could see that he was crying. It wasn't a normal cry. It was more like the agonized keening of an animal in deep pain._

Yash blinked again and found he was once again in Kaede's hut. "Did you see that?"

Kaede peered down at him. When had she gotten up? "See what?" she asked curiously.

"I saw... a boy. In the orchard," he said. He sat up and looked around. They were very much in Kaede's house and nowhere near the orchard.

"What are you talking about? You fell asleep a few hours ago."

Yash ran a hand through his hair, trying to call back the memory of what he had just seen, but it was quickly slipping away. "I... I... I had a dream, I guess," he said quietly.

"Oh?" Kaede was smiling at him, almost as if she knew something he didn't. "I wouldn't worry over it too much. Worry about what you're going to do until your ribs have fully healed."

Yash shook his head. "Are they broken?" He looked down and found that he was not wearing his white kosode. He also found no bandages. Dark purple bruises had blossomed across his skin.

"Just a few cracked ones, but you'll be feeling the effects for several weeks."

_Great_, he thought. "Kaede, I wanted to talk to you about something else," he said nervously.

She nodded. "I'll help you as best I can."

"For the last ten years, I've worked for Lord Sesshomaru, but I have no memory of what I did before that. I just woke up here. Isn't there anyone who misses me? Why isn't anyone looking for me? I couldn't have wandered that far from my home. And why is it that every human is getting older... except me?" These were questions that kept Yash awake when all the other servants were sleeping.

Kaede sighed. Yash knew from that sound that she didn't have any answers for him. "I wish I could tell you what you need to know," she said regretfully. "All I know is that your place is here."

It wasn't enough, but it would have to do. Yash tried to get to his feet, though it was quite painful. "I have to get back to work," he said.

"I'm sorry," Kaede whispered. "Maybe it will come to you someday."

Yash nodded, although he didn't believe her. For whatever reason, he was a servant to a malevolent master, and so he would be, until he died.

* * *

The sun was close to the western horizon when Yash made his way back to the main house. After getting his shirt from the clothesline, he used the back entrance to the servants' quarters and almost no one gave him any trouble or asked where he had been. It was common knowledge that he would often seek out Kaede for help or advice.

Also, Yash was known as something of a workhorse. No one minded if he disappeared for a time because he could usually be found working harder than anyone. He was well-liked among the other servants, but tended to keep to himself.

This didn't stop the women from flirting with him. They saw him as an enigma, a mystery, a puzzle to be solved. Each of the women wanted to be the one to put the light back into his typically aphotic expression.

One particularly persistent woman was named Tsubaki. She has highly regarded as the most beautiful of the servants, and many a man had fallen prey to her lovely looks and charming demeanor. She, however, had eyes only for one.

Yash had just entered the servants' quarters when she pounced. "Hello, Yash," she said sweetly.

He jumped. Clearly, she had been waiting for him. Her hair was perfectly coiffed, not a strand out of place, and her kimono was remarkably clean for that of a servant. "Hello, Tsubaki."

Tsubaki surveyed the bandage on his cheek. "Oh, my," she said airily, "Has someone been misbehaving?"

Yash ignored this, and pushed past her towards the kitchen. Suzaku would probably have some work for him before dinner. "Wait!" she called.

He turned back. A smile that was so wide it was almost a grimace was plastered to her face. "I thought maybe you and I could spend some time together this evening," she said. She looked shyly at the floor, but Yash knew this to be an act. She had used it on practically everyone.

He rolled his eyes, and told her he had work to do before he turned away again.

Thankfully, she didn't follow him. He was sure she would try again later, but put it out of his mind for now. It was mildly irritating how willing these women were to give themselves up for nothing. Nothing stirred in Yash's heart at the sight of them.

He wondered, as he often did, if he had been married or had a family before he had lost his memory. Somewhere, was there a woman who was waiting for him to return? Did he have children who were growing up without a father? It was for this reason, among others, that Yash found he could never bring himself to give the women what they wanted.

As it turned out, Suzaku was in a frenzy. She was a small human woman who usually wore a yellow kimono. Today, there was a red apron tied over the front and she was covered in flour. She looked relieved to see Yash.

"Guests are arriving tomorrow!" she said frantically. "There is so much to do! I had a list for you, but -." Her eyes scanned the room and landed on the paper that had fallen to the floor.

She went to pick it up, but Yash beat her to it, although doing so caused sharp pains to shoot through his ribs. "It's ok, I've got it. Thank you, Suzaku. I'll get this done."

The list contained several items, including getting the guest chambers aired out, as well as scrubbing the front entryway. His first task was to air out the rooms, so he took the back stairs and made his way through each of the rooms, opening the windows and turning down the sheets as he did so.

In the last room, at the back of the house on the right side, Yash paused. Something about this room always made him feel odd. It was as if the ghosts of his past had all converged here and were whispering strange things to him as he worked. It gave him the chills. He worked quickly and left the room in less time than the others had taken.

Downstairs again, Yash collected a bucket and rags and went out the back door to the water pump. Carrying the full bucket back to the house was a struggle, but it was nothing compared to the actual scrubbing motion. Thankfully, not many people were about, so Yash was able to complete this task before the sun had gone down completely.

There were a few small other chores, such as sweeping out the ballroom and polishing the silver in the formal dining room, but these were easily completed by the time the other servants were finishing the evening meal. Yash went back upstairs to close all the windows in the guest rooms. Once again, in the last room, he had a strange feeling. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of red and white, but when he jerked around to see who, or what, was there, he was alone.

When he returned to the kitchen, Yash was handed a small bowl of rice and a thick slice of bread from Suzaku when he told her that her list had been taken care of. The look of gratitude on her pretty face was more than enough payment, but he was thankful for the food nonetheless. He sat by himself. Almost everyone else had already eaten and no one bothered him.

When he had finished and asked Suzaku if there was anything else she needed him to do and been turned away, he decided that it was finally time for bed. It had been a long day, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Except for the dream. Yash lay on his cot in the men's quarters and stared at the ceiling. Who was this small boy? And why did Yash feel so connected to him? Was there something to be learned from this child or was he merely being tormented by an unhappy spirit? He supposed the question would probably never have an answer. And with that, he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

_Authors' Note:_

_Ok, first chapter is completed! As always, if you notice any spelling or grammatical errors, please let us know and we will do our best to fix them. Constructive criticism is highly valued and we would appreciate hearing your opinion. _

_You might notice that the chapter title is a word not commonly used. We thought it would be fun to find uncommon words and try to incorporate them into our story. Thus, the first chapter is called "Aphotic." The word "aphotic" means lightless or dark. In this chapter, Yash's expression is described as "aphotic" meaning he has a dark demeanor and doesn't smile very often. _

_We hope you enjoyed this chapter. In the next one, you'll get to meet Kagome and see what she's been up to all this time. _

_Love,_

_Elleny Banning_

_Disclaimer: We do not own "InuYasha."_


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